HUD has revised its Minimum Property Standards so that emergency call systems are now optional at certain elderly multifamily properties with 20 or more units. The change, issued as Notice H 2026-06 on September 10 and covered again this week by OPEN MINDS, lets owners keep a working system or remove it after notifying residents in advance and considering their comments. Systems that no longer work must be removed. Where no functioning emergency call system remains, HUD encourages regular wellness checks, especially for residents who live alone or have limited mobility.
HUD's notice points out that many older systems are manual pull cords that owners may lack the money to repair, and that a broken system can give residents a false sense of security. LeadingAge, which pushed for the change, said members reported misuse of the systems, insurance concerns, and residents who prefer personal wearable devices.
Optional does not mean unnecessary. Removing a pull-cord system shifts responsibility to staff rounds, wearables and whatever alert path is left. Before you decide, map the whole chain: how a resident calls for help, who receives the alert, how fast it escalates, and whether response times are logged. Many communities find that a modern emergency call system for senior living, with wireless pendants routed to staff phones, costs less to maintain than an aging wired system and gives families clearer answers. The right assisted living phone system can tie those alerts into the same devices staff already carry.
Allied Voiceworks helps communities in Boerne, San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country weigh repair, replace or retire. See our senior living solutions and life safety options.
Source: OPEN MINDS
